Naperville Seeks Limits on Illinois Privacy Law

Naperville Seeks Limits on Illinois Privacy Law

Article excerpt

The Naperville city council voted unanimously November 2 to recommend that the Illinois legislature modify the state's 1983 Library Confidentiality Act to give police quicker access to patron records, the Naperville Sun reported November 4.

The action was prompted by a May 18 incident at the Naperville Public Library in which three teenagers reported seeing a man fondling himself while allegedly viewing pornography at a library computer (AL, Aug., p. 22-23). The confidentiality act required police to obtain a court-ordered search warrant before library officials would reveal the name of the suspect, who was subsequently arrested.

The proposal, drafted by Naperville Legal Director Margo Ely and Police Captain Ray McGury, reads, "Nothing contained in this act shall be construed as a privacy violation or a breach of confidentiality when a library cooperates with and provides information to sworn law enforcement officers in the process of a criminal investigation.

"Furthermore, nothing contained in this act shall be construed as permitting a library to refuse to cooperate with and provide information to sworn law enforcement officers in the process of a criminal investigation. …